One year on: the Red Bull Stratos documentary

On the anniversary of Red Bull Stratos, a new film sheds fresh light on the epic feat.

By Tarquin Cooper on 16 September 2013

A year after Felix Baumgartner's fearless leap from the edge of space, the mere mention of Red Bull Stratos still produces feelings of amazement, awe and wonder.

To mark the historic event, a new documentary film is to come out which offers news insight on the full story. It will make its world premiere exclusively on Rdio, available to stream for free at www.rdio.com/redbullstratos for three months beginning on October 14, 2013, which marks the one-year anniversary of Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from the stratosphere.

Showing never-before-seen footage, the documentary reveals for the first time the undisclosed dramas that threatened to ground the mission.

Viewers will get long-awaited details on Baumgartner’s faceplate heating issue, which nearly aborted the mission, and also hear personal interviews and intimate anecdotes from the team as they look back on the experience and the challenges they overcame for the first time on camera.

An original song written and recorded especially for the documentary credits and trailer – “Oh Boy,” by artists “Portugal. The Man” – is also available exclusively to stream on Rdio.

Red Bull Stratos riveted the world last year when Baumgartner became the first human to break the speed of sound with his own body. After ascending 24 miles above earth in a massive helium balloon, he jumped from his capsule.

Wearing only a spacesuit, and with a mere 10 minutes of oxygen on his back, he accelerated from 0 to 843.6 miles per hour – Mach 1.25 – in just 50 seconds. He had a total freefall time of over 4 minutes before eventually parachuting to the ground.

Red Bull Stratos broke numerous world records and delivered valuable scientific data to improve safety for future aviators and astronauts. It became the most-watched live event in internet history, and the fascination continues.